Lost and Found

Another busy and hectic week is coming to an end. I've been off work today and have Friday off as well. I'd really hoped that the snow-storm on Tuesday night would bring something 'substantial' as the weathermen had predicted because I was ready for it--I bought new snow boots.  But Mother Nature only brought us about an inch--Maybe next time!  Even though we didn't get the snow, we did get cold biting winds and frigid temperatures that are below freezing.  I've noticed several times Hamlet standing with the wind blowing right in his face.  I wonder what he is thinking.  (You'll notice that he's once again wearing a shirt--This is because he started licking an area just above his elbow after he would come back inside. I don't know if the cold is affecting his mostly bare skin, but I don't want the area where he had surgery to become irritated and sore.)     



~Hamlet~

The week has also had me thinking just how useful our dogs are. While much of what they do is obvious to those of us who share our lives with them, a few things they do are sometimes overlooked and taken for granted.  Aside from serving as guardians of our home, our dogs have  expanded their duties to include barking at trees or anything else nearby that may be a threat.  They are also the greeting committee.  This afternoon when a UPS truck pulled into our driveway, 3 of the dogs jumped right into the truck to greet the driver, who thankfully wasn't afraid of them.  Our crew are also my companions when we go hunting--Even though I don't know what we're hunting for when we go on our walks, they usually let me know when they've found it by rolling in it, or eating it.



~Carl and Tanner returning home~

 But the most valuable role they have played, at least today, was helping me to find a couple of things that were lost.  This morning when we had the dogs out for their morning walk, Carl thought I was keeping track of Tanner.  Since I had my camera to take pictures, I thought he was. Needless to say when the walk was over, we realized neither of us was. Typically Tanner will follow the route that we always take on our walks and is easy enough to find. But this morning he must've gotten distracted by something because we couldn't find him. A bit of a frantic search was helped by Rudi who has demonstrated more than once that she seems to understand what 'find Tanner' means because I followed her and she found him for us.

~Tanner~

As if that wasn't enough, a little later this morning as I was putting on some earrings, I dropped one--it was not just any earring I dropped, but one of my diamond earrings that belonged to my Mother. A careful search on hands and knees for several minutes turned up nothing. Just as I was about to give up, Charlie started sniffing at something buried within the down-filled dog bed, and I realized it was my earring.  I felt another huge sense of relief!

Now that things have settled down this afternoon, and evening is approaching, I'm wondering if with all of the dogs we have, if there is one or two among them who can help me find more time?